Funnoodle

This stuff comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and consistencies. Your best bet is Wal-Mart during the summer season. You can often get noodle on clearance at the end of season for really, really cheap and stock up. the "end of season" will vary on where you live, but will be basically whenever stores start clearing out summer stuff and stocking winter stuff.

Another bet for you cheapskates is the lost-and-found of the local municipal pool. A lot of little kids forget their pooltoys, and the pools often hold them till the end of the season. They just get thrown out if no one asks for them. Labor Day weekend would be a good time to make a circuit of the local pools to see if they will help a poor Amtgarder out.

Cautionary Note

Be careful when buying any type of "Noodle" due to the continuing lacking of production standards, Diameter of tubes are below the 2.5 inches safety requirement in the RoP. Some kingdoms are forbidding the use of pool noodles, so be sure to check with your park champion before purchasing foam.

Other Brands

Other brands of noodle you may see:

• "Wacky Noodle": In southern areas a poll supply store called 'Leslies Pool Supplies' carries this year round. It has much smaller cells than Funnoodle does and a smaller hole in the center that sort of makes up for this. It tends to be slightly heavier than Funnoodle. It is considered really bad for most Amtgard use as it breaks down much too quickly for normal use, but if you happen to hit lightly then Wacky Noodle may work for you, however, if you do not, count on Wacky Noodle lasting no more than a few hours out at the park if you like to swing it with much of any force behind it.
• "Tundra Noodle" is too dense for swords, but makes a nice rim for shields because it doesn't break down as fast.
• "Oodle Noodle" is not as good as funnoodle but not as bad as Wacky Noodle. Good for a quick fix.